But in frustrating news for the White House, Americans appear to give little credit to President Bush for the lack of a terrorist strike over the last seven years: Only 37 percent believe the president and his policies are the chief reason there has not been a strike on U.S. soil. Overall, he has a 28 percent approval rating, tying his all time low in CNN/ORC polling.

Opinions on the war in Iraq, on the other hand, have changed slightly, with a slight majority (52 percent) now saying that the Iraq war is an essential part of the war on terrorism. That represents a shift from 2006, when a majority of Americans said the war in Iraq was a distraction.